Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s7.2

c26.s7.2

1. The consonantal symbol is read either as basic or with the 'inherent' *-a* depending on the linguistic context.
2. There is therefore no separate marker for the medial *-a*.
3. The short horizontal stroke attached to the top right of a consonantal symbol stands only for the medial *-ā* as in the Brāhmī script.